Temple University Athletics
#7/6 HURRICANES STRIKE EARLY IN 34-3 WIN ON HOMECOMING
10.15.05 | Football
PHILADELPHIA -- Temple played #7/6 Miami evenly for the second half, but the Hurricanes struck early and often in the first stanza to take a 34-3 victory on Homecoming, presented by Verizon, on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field. After a Miami touchdown with 11:51 to play before halftime, the Owls outscored UM, 3-0, the rest of the way. The Cherry and White also out-gained the Hurricanes on the ground, 84-34, thanks mostly to senior RB Umar Ferguson's 77 hard-fought yards on 23 carries.
"They're just explosive, " said Temple head coach Bobby Wallace. "You can see a lot of times out there where we got them all defended, we got them surrounded and you know it's a real struggle to get them to the ground because they're great athletes. I give them a lot of credit. But I give our kids a lot of credit for fighting hard."
True freshman QB Joe DeSanzo made his collegiate debut in the contest in relief of senior Mike McGann and completed 10-of-20 for 96 yards. He did not throw an interception despite heavy pressure from the Miami defense.
The Hurricanes (5-1, 2-1 ACC) took advantage of two big plays early on and scored on three of their first six touches. On its second play from scrimmage, senior flanker Sinorice Moss took a swing pass and outran the Temple defense on his way to a 92-yard touchdown. The play was the second longest pass-play in Miami's storied history.
The other big play for the visitors was a highlight reel punt return by Devin Hester. The junior took the punt, circled around his blockers, broke a tackle and sprinted to paydirt for a 48-yard touchdown. The play was nearly a carbon-copy of his run last Saturday against Duke.
Temple's (0-7) defense held its own against the dynamic Miami offense and recorded four sacks, two of which forced the ball loose which the Owls recovered. Senior DE Christian Dunbar had both fumble-forcing sacks and tied a team-high with four TFLs.
UM starting QB Kyle Wright had a near-perfect day, going 9-for-10 for 196 yards and four touchdowns. The one incompletion was a catch-able ball that would have resulted in a Miami touchdown. The sophomore left the game in the second quarter with an injury and was replaced by redshirt-freshman Kirby Freeman (7-for-11, 121 yards). TE Greg Olson had three catches, two for scores, for 38 yards.
After Dunbar's first sack and forced fumble, Temple had first and ten from its own 41. The Cherry and White got another break after not picking up the first down, as senior Jake Hendy was run into on his punt attempt, resulting in a five-yard penalty and new life for the Owls.
Temple advanced to the Miami 37 and was faced with a fourth and ten. Senior PK Ryan Lux attempted a 54-yard field goal that had the distance, but was wide right.
After one Miami play, Dunbar forced his second fumble of the game on Wright and JC Braker recovered on the Hurricane 22-yard line. TU could not record a first down but Lux connected on a 40-yard field goal to put the Owls on the board. With a minute remaining before halftime, Miami held a 34-3 lead.
The second half was rather quiet. Neither team put any points on the scoreboard as the Temple defense posted consecutive shutout quarters for the first time all season. Miami was content to take the air out of the ball, but gained just 21 yards on the ground in the second half.
The Owls take to the road next Saturday in a matchup against Clemson (3-3, 2-3 ACC). The game will be televised on CN8 beginning at 12:30 p.m.
